This Is Where I Belong
by princessjasmine12
Summary: A one-shot that I wanted to write after watching that Ezria kiss in season 2 episode 2. What if those buses that had been behind Ezra's car had been filled with students and teachers?
1. Chapter 1

**After watching that Ezria kiss on Tuesday, I just couldn't resist writing this. What if those buses that had been behind Ezra's car had been filled with students?**

Aria's POV

"Well, there it is… Oh! Oh! Always read, have a good life!" Ezra's last words rung through my head as I grabbed my textbook off my desk. I snatched my bag from the back of my chair and rushed out of that classroom as quickly as my legs would carry me. I felt Ezra's eyes on my back as I ran away. In the back of my mind, I knew it was cowardly; not wanting to face him after those words he had said, but I was not about to admit that to myself.

Even though the school day was over, I did not want to go home. I kept walking around the school going wherever my body led me, until I found myself standing at the doorway to the school cafeteria. I sighed and took a seat at the table the girls and I usually sat at for lunch. Pulling my notebook out, I started pouring my heart out to the crisp blank pages.

Looking around at the vacant cafeteria, I realized how empty my heart felt, without Ezra by my side. The pounding of the rain on the roof of the school was just another reminder of how washed away and lonely I was feeling.

As I replayed Ezra's good-bye speech in my head, I realized that it wasn't meant for the class at all. It was meant for me. The whole thing was meant for me. I was a little surprised that he managed to pour his whole heart out to me in such a fashion that he was able to disguise it as a speech for the whole class.

He said that he never expected to connect with me the way that he had. He was right. My connection with Ezra was so strong, and although at the moment, I did not want to admit it, I felt so empty without him. He was my other half.

_You must give up the life that you had planned, in order to have the life that is awaiting… for you. _That quote kept ringing though my head. Ezra had never planned to fall in love with me. He never planned to have a secret relationship with one of his students. Yet it happened, and we accepted it for what it was. We fought so hard to be together, because we knew that our feelings, otherwise seen as wrong to the outside world, were right in every other way. As he had told me before, even though our love doesn't look right, it has always felt right. And aren't you supposed to follow your heart? My heart was telling me that what Ezra and I had was right. There was nothing in this world that had the potential to completely break what Ezra and I had.

Suddenly, I realized what needed to be done. Ezra loved me. How could I ever doubt that? It was not his fault at all that Jackie was going to be working with him. And how many times had he told me that she did not matter to him anymore? I finally realized how wrong I had been to ever think twice about how Ezra felt about me. As this realization struck me, I quickly stood up, gathered my notebook and pen and shoved them into my bag. I snatched my umbrella from the table and started to jog out of the cafeteria. My jog slowed down to a quick walk as I entered the hallway, but as soon as I spotted Ezra's classroom down the hall, I started running again. Breathlessly, I arrived at the door of Ezra's classroom. A wave of regret and sadness overwhelmed me as I came upon the empty classroom. I slowly walked inside, looking around. _Good-bye Mr. Fitz, _the students had written on the blackboard. I walked over to Ezra's empty desk, which now was void of his cups of pens, his stacks of papers, and everything that made Ezra's desk, Ezra's. I looked around the empty classroom again, feeling the tears forming in my eyes. I realized that this was my entire fault. If I hadn't been so stubborn about Jackie, and if I had believed his when he told me that she did not matter to her anymore, then Ezra wouldn't be gone. I had my chance to make amends with Ezra, but I didn't take it. I had run from his classroom like a coward, right after he told me that I was all that mattered to him. I was about to leave the classroom, but as I turned to glance over the room that held so many memories one last time, something caught my eye from outside. A ray of light filled the room, as I started walking towards the window. It was as if a higher power was calling me, showing me where Ezra was, telling me to not give up on our relationship. A smile appeared on my face as I spotted Ezra standing by his car. I rushed out of the classroom, desperate to see him one last time at Rosewood Day High. I sprinted through the school and through the faculty parking lot, my eyes seeing nothing but Ezra. He was all I could think about at that moment. As I ran faster towards him, I dropped my umbrella and bag onto the pavement, not even worrying about whether or not anything in my bag broke from the collision.

As soon as he spotted me running towards him, he set down the box that was in his hands that he had been about to put into the trunk of his car. He held his arms out to me, as I ran towards him.

"Ezra." I managed to say, before I jumped into his welcoming arms. As I got into his arms, I felt myself being lifted off the ground. He had one hand on my back supporting my weight off the ground, while the other was at the back of my head, bringing my face to his. I wrapped my arms tightly around his neck as our lips met in a passion filled kiss. I felt us spinning around slowly from the impact of me jumping into his arms. I tangled my fingers in his hair as he kissed me back eagerly. He held me closer, as I wrapped my arms tighter around his neck. I opened my mouth in acceptance to his prodding tongue, as I felt sparks throughout my body coming from Ezra's touch. I claimed his lips, over and over again, as I loosened my hold around his neck. Our lips stayed against each other's for another moment, before I felt myself being set back down onto the ground. I kept one arm wrapped around his neck, as the other grazed his cheek. I felt his hand come up to brush away a few strands of my bangs, stroking my cheek in the process. We broke apart a little, for a moment, lips still touching. However, we quickly reentered our passion filled kiss, as Ezra crushed his lips to mine once again.

All of a sudden, I was pulled out of my fantasy as I heard someone behind me clear his or her throat. I pulled away from Ezra's lips, with a genuine smile on my face. I slowly opened my eyes to see him beaming back at me. I was so glad that I was given another chance. I loved Ezra, and he loved me. There was nothing anyone could do to change that. I quickly remembered what had broken our embrace. I looked at Ezra again, to see that he had a very shocked look on his face, as he quietly muttered the same words he had said on our first day of English class, "holy crap."

I slowly turned around, to see who had interrupted us, as I came face to face with the school principal. Behind him, stood almost all of my teachers, and quite a few other kids. As I looked around me, I noticed the rows and rows of buses filled with students parked behind Ezra's car.

"I always knew that there was something up with you two. The way you would look at each other, I knew that something had to have been going on." Mrs. Welch stepped forward towards Ezra and I.

I opened my mouth to defend Ezra and I, but was cut off.

"Do you realize how inappropriate this is?" The principal asked us, with a pained and disgusted expression on his face.

Ezra looked down, clearly ashamed with himself, as he said nothing.

I wasn't about to let Ezra get in trouble, when he wasn't even my teacher anymore. However, before I could speak, Mrs. Welch started talking again.

"If you two are kissing like _that, _then obviously, this relationship didn't start just now." Mrs. Welch snapped.

I rolled my eyes. She had always had a thing for Ezra, but he never expressed any feelings back to her.

"No, it started just now." I lied. "Mr. Fitz and I always felt a connection, but we knew that it was wrong to act on it, since he was my teacher. But he's not my teacher anymore, so I did what felt right." I shrugged and looked at Ezra, who had a look of disbelief on his face, at the fact that we had just been caught.

"Is that right?" Mrs. Welch asked slowly, watching me intently, waiting for me to break down and tell the truth.

I nodded, looking her straight in the eyes. I was thankful that I was such a great liar, or else Mrs. Welch would have seen right through mine and Ezra's lie.

"Well, since you've already resigned, I can't fire you for this." The principal shook his head. Suddenly, he gasped. I cringed, hoping that he didn't just put together all the pieces in his head.

"Did you resign, so that you could be in a relationship with Miss Montgomery?" He asked, dumbstruck.

"No!" Ezra lied. "I resigned, because I was offered a better job at another school." He said simply.

The principal muttered something I was not able to make out under his breath, as he turned away from Ezra and I and started talking to the teachers standing behind him.

I looked at Ezra again. Our relationship was no longer wrong. He couldn't get in trouble for being with me. Every touch, every kiss, would be just that, a touch or a kiss. He wouldn't be risking his job or the possibility of going to jail every time he expressed his love for me. My heart swelled with happiness as I felt my eyes begin to water.

"Aria, what's wrong?" Ezra brushed a lone tear that had fallen away with his thumb.

"I'm just… so happy." I sniffled.

"Me too, Aria. Me too." He gathered me in an embrace once more, crushing me to his chest. I breathed in the smell of Ezra that I had come to know and love, knowing that this was where I belonged. The pieces were finally falling into place; Ezra and I were together. And that was all that mattered to me.

**Well, there it is! (As Ezra would say) Hope you liked it! Review please and let me know your thoughts! **


	2. Chapter 2

"Aw." I gushed. "Thank you." I thanked my Junior AP English class, as I pulled the wrapping paper off of the good-bye gift they had given me: A brand new copy of my favorite book, To Kill A Mockingbird.

"I wasn't expecting this." I confessed, as I tore my eyes away from the cover of the book and to my class.

Although I knew some would call it foolish, the entire good-bye speech I had prepared was directs towards Aria. I had made it general enough that one could interpret it for the whole class, but I knew that Aria would be able to figure out my message between the lines that was meant for her.

"To be honest," I started, as I looked around the classroom, making eye-contact with each student, "most of what's happened to me here, I-I didn't expect." It was true. I didn't expect any of this. I never expected to see Aria sitting in the third row of my Junior AP English class on the first day of school.

"I never expected to... connect with you the way that I have." That was true too. Aria and I connected on a level no one would ever understand. One look into her eyes and I knew every single emotion she was feeling at that point in time. Hell, I felt them myself.

"I never expected to feel this kind of loss over... Leaving you." I felt like I was leaving a piece of me behind. A piece that made me who I am today.

"Um, stop me if this gets too modeln (**Is that even a word? I've listened to the clip so many times but I can't understand what he says here!)**, but... I'm not going to forget you." I started walking slowly towards Aria's desk, moving a little closer with each step I took.

I could never forget Aria. She was my other half, my soul mate, the reason I wake up every morning. Seeing that beautiful smile of hers, the sparks that erupt in my body when our lips touch, makes me realize how every part of our forbidden relationship was worth it. The sneaking around, the glances stolen during class, the endless nights in my apartment cuddled up together, watching old movies and eating take out and so much more. The way my name rolled off her tongue, the way she makes my heart beat speed up at the sight of her. The way she tried so hard to hide her emotions when she was hurting, yet I was able to see right through her wall of defense. Because we were meant for each other. I was the only one who could tell when she was truly hurting. And I knew, that holding this grudge against me, not accepting my apology, was hurting her. By the look in her eyes, I knew that she was trying not to forgive me on the spot. Or at least I hoped so. God, how much I hoped so.

"I will remember your, your voices, your questions, your faces." I gesture towards Aria.

"I cherish, the time that I've spent here, and I'm more grateful, then I even know how to say."

I was. If I hadn't taught at Rosewood, I probably never would have seen Aria again after we met at Snookers.

"There's a quote, by Joseph Campbell." I began, innocently drifting a little closer to Aria's desk.

"It goes, "Tou must give up the life, you had planned, in order to have the life that is waiting for you." I spoke while looking down at the ground. I knew too many questions would be asked if I looked directly at Aria.

"I thought I knew what that meant. I didn't..." I shook my head, avoiding eye contact with Aria. "Till I met you." I confessed.

I though I knew what kind of life I wanted while I was still in college. I envisioned a life with Jackie, married with a kid or two. I was heartbroken when she broke off our engagement, but meeting Aria helped me get over that heartbreak and be happy again.

The bell to end class rung, bringing my good-bye speech to an end.

"Well, there it is. Oh oh!" I remembered. "Always read, have a good life!" I finished.

I shook hands with a few students before they left the room. I watched Aria as she bolted from the room, blending into the crowd of people.

"Bye Mr. Fitz." Spencer Hastings said, coming up to me. After turning back around, hoping Aria had experienced a change of heart and wanted to say good-bye to me, I shook Spencer's hand and gave Emily Fields a smile. I turned back to the door one last time, feeling distraught when Aria's small form was not visible in the room.

After all the students had said their good-bye's and filed out of the room, I looked around my classroom once more, before letting out a huge sigh.

It was over. We were over. All because I didn't tell Aria about Jackie. I slowly gathered up the pens, papers, and other supplies from my desk and placed them inside a box. Buried deep into the bottom drawer of my desk, was the junior poetry book. The book that contained the poem I wrote for Aria. It seemed ironic now. All that we had been through had brought us to this moment. I was packing up my desk, getting ready to leave Rosewood high, and no longer be Aria's teacher. I accepted the job at Hollis, so we would no longer be teacher and student. So we could have a legal relationship. So we could go out for a cup of coffee together, or hold hands while walking down the sidewalk. So we could be seen together in public, without raising too many questions.

But here I was, getting ready to leave, and Aria was not by my side. She did not want anything to do with me.

Were we broken up? It sure felt like it. She refused to talk to me and only would if she had to. She was being so stubborn, all because I didn't tell her I would be working with Jackie.

Does she not trust me? Does she really think I would go back to Jackie?

I shook my head, trying to clear my head of these heartbreaking thoughts.

I grabbed the few boxes of my stuff that I had managed to pack up, and hauled them over to my car into the teachers' parking lot.

All my hope was gone now. Aria wasn't coming back. We were really over. And it was all my fault.

Just as I picked up the second box to put into the trunk, I saw Aria running towards me out of the corner of my eye. She had come. She actually had come.

"Ezra." She said, breathlessly, as she threw her bag and umbrella to the ground.

I dropped the box in my hands back onto the box still sitting on the pavement, seeing only Aria. I held my arms out to Aria as she jumped into my arms. I placed a hand on the back of her head and pulled her face to mine. My lips captured hers in a passionate kiss. I lifted her petite body off the ground from the impact of her running into my arms. She tangled her fingers in my hair as sparks erupted through out my body from her touch. Our tongues eagerly met each other's in a passionate battle for dominance. My arms wrapped around her back holding her close to me, as her arms snaked around me. Our lips did not leave each other's as I bent down, lightly placed her feet back on the ground. Our lips parted ever so slightly, before I crushed my lips to hers once again.

I was forced to come back to reality and remember that we were in a parking lot, at school, a very public place, making out as if the other was the air we needed to breathe. An unidentifiable voice cleared their throat behind me, and I pulled away from Aria, beaming at her. She was smiling radiantly at me, clearly content with her decision to forgive me.

I froze in fear as I tore my eyes away from Aria's beautiful face.

"Holy crap." I faintly muttered.

Standing beside us, was the school principal, some fellow teachers, and many other students. I finally realized that we had not been alone. There were rows and rows of buses parked behind my car, which just moments ago, held students.

"I always knew there was something up with you two. The way you would look at each other, I knew that something had to have been going on." Mrs. Welch stepped forwards towards Aria and I.

I was speechless. We had been caught. Kissing. In the school parking lot. Not that any of that mattered anymore, because we were no longer teacher and student, but still. It would definitely raise suspicion.

I watched Aria as she opened her mouth, most likely to defend us, but was cut off by the principal.

"Do you realize how inappropriate this is?" The principal asked. He looked disgusted at my behavior towards a student.

I looked down towards the ground, ashamed of what I had just let happen in a very public place.

A sudden mood change washed over me as I remembered that I was not Aria's teacher anymore. Coming from the principal's viewpoint, I guess I could understand, but at this point, I really did not care. I was with Aria, I was no longer her teacher, and we could be together.

"If you two are kissing like _ that _ then obviously this relationship did not start just now." Mrs. Welch snapped.

I tried to hide the laugh that escaped my lips as I saw Aria roll her eyes. We both knew that Mrs. Welch had always had a thing for me.

"No, it started just now." Aria lied. "Mr. Fitz and I always felt a connection, but we knew that it was wrong to act on it, since he was my teacher. But he's not my teacher anymore, so I did what felt right." She said confidently.

I admired her confidence right now because I was seriously lacking in it at that moment. I was still in disbelief at the fact that we had been caught. By the principal. And teachers. And students. It could not have gotten worse.

I watched Aria and Mrs. Welch, as they looked each other straight in the eyes. Mrs. Welch was waiting for Aria to crack and admit the truth, while Aria stood there confidently playing a very good charade.

"Well, since you've already resigned, I can't fire you for this." The principal shook his head at me. I looked back at Aria again, but turned back to the principal when he let out a huge gasp.

I held my breath, hoping he hadn't just managed to put all the pieces of the puzzle together in his head.

"Did you resign, so that you could be in a relationship with Miss Montgomery?" He cringed at me.

"No!" I lied. "I resigned, because I was offered a better job at another school."

I watched the principal intently, hoping he believed my lie, as he muttered something under his breathe. He turned away and started talking to the teachers behind him.

I looked back at Aria, who was beaming at me with a brilliant smile on her face. I knew exactly what she was thinking because I felt the exact same way. We could be together. Legally. And no one could stop us. Every time we went out together, no one could say a word. We could hold hands or kiss in public, without the chance of me going to jail. I frowned as I saw tears start to form in Aria's eyes.

"Aria, what's wrong?" I asked her sympathetically, as I brushed a lone tear from her rosy cheek away with my thumb.

"I'm just… so happy." She sniffled, as she moved closer to me.

"Me too, Aria. Me too." I gathered her in an embrace once again, crushing her small body close to me. Aria was in my arms once again, and everything was finally falling into place. I knew that this was where I truly belonged, with Aria.


End file.
